Taxi drivers must obtain new DBS certificate before rejoining Update Service, minister confirms
- Perry Richardson
- Jun 15
- 2 min read
Taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers seeking to rejoin the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Update Service must first obtain a new enhanced DBS certificate, according to a ministerial response published in Parliament.
Responding to a written question from Greg Smith on 11 June, Sarah Jones said the DBS has not assessed the number of taxi and PHV drivers required to obtain new enhanced DBS certificates in recent years because it does not record applications by individual occupation groups.
Smith had asked how many taxi and private hire drivers were required to obtain a new enhanced DBS certificate in each of the last five years, what estimate had been made of the cost to drivers, and whether the Government had considered allowing drivers to rejoin the DBS Update Service without first obtaining a new enhanced DBS check.
Jones said the DBS does not hold the requested figures because it records applications rather than individual applicants.
She explained: “The DBS records how many applications are received, not how many separate individuals apply for checks. Individuals can make multiple applications, and therefore application numbers are unlikely to tally to, and will likely be higher than the number of individuals applying.”
The response also confirms that the Home Office sees a fresh enhanced DBS check as a necessary requirement before a driver can re-enrol in the Update Service if their previous subscription has lapsed.
Jones stated: “It is not feasible for DBS to enrol taxi and private hire vehicle drivers into the Update Service based on previously issued DBS certificates.”
She added: “A new DBS check is essential as this forms an up-to-date baseline against which any new information the Update Service identifies is assessed.”
The issue is significant for the taxi and PHV sector because many licensing authorities now require drivers to maintain continuous DBS Update Service subscriptions as part of safeguarding and licensing standards. If a subscription expires, drivers are typically required to obtain and pay for a new enhanced DBS certificate before they can rejoin the monitoring service.
The parliamentary response provides the clearest indication yet that the Government has no plans to allow drivers to reactivate Update Service monitoring using an older DBS certificate, despite the additional cost and administrative burden that can arise when subscriptions lapse.
